On 16 December, the Lviv Polytechnic Assembly Hall hosted a meeting with Solomiya Ivakhiv, a violinist who conquered the hearts of the audiences in the world’s most famous concert halls. At the age of 17, the Lvivite successfully passed the competition and entered the world-famous Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia. Solomiya became the first female Ukrainian in the 80-year history of this institution to become a concertmaster of the Curtis Symphony Orchestra, and in 2003, upon completion of her studies, she was awarded the Fritz Kreisler Gold Medal. In 2010, the violinist received her doctorate in music. She is currently the Chair of the String Department and Professor of Violin and Viola at the University of Connecticut and the Bard College Conservatory of Music and in recent years has been the Artistic Director of the Music at the Institute (MATI) at the Ukrainian Institute of America in New York. She regularly conducts masterclasses at many music institutions in North America, China and Ukraine.
As the Artistic Director of the Music at the Institute (MATI) at the Ukrainian Institute of America (since 2010), Solomiya has been an inspirational advocate for Ukrainian music around the world. This year, Solomiya Ivakhiv presented a new CD, an album of carols called Ukrainian Christmas, released by the well-known American distribution company Naxos of America. One of Solomiya’s previous albums, Journey to Freedom – A Century of Classical Music for Violin and Piano, was among the top five albums worldwide on iTunes and won a prestigious award at the Global Music Awards. She became the Honoured Artist of Ukraine in 2021.
Today’s event was organised by the International Institute of Education, Culture and Diaspora Relations (IECDR), Lviv Polytechnic National University. It was moderated by Andrii Yatsiv, Deputy Director of the IECDR.
The initiator of the event, Iryna Kliuchkovska, Director of the IECDR, said that the meeting was a great joy, as it had been planned for two years. In her speech, Iryna noted that she had known the Ivakhiv family for a long time and remembered Solomiya since childhood. One of Solomiya’s albums with a deep meaning is Journey to Freedom. Back in Soviet times, Solomiya’s family chose the path to freedom, which consisted of studying a large number of Ukrainian books on history, culture, and literature. The road to freedom was based on education in Ukrainian traditions and rituals. To make our culture free from the yoke of imperial tyranny, we must continue to study, develop and promote it. Today, having gone through a number of difficult stages in her life, Solomiya gives us all a spark of confidence: we were, we are and we will be.
This year Solomiya presented a new album – Ukrainian Christmas. The album, which enriched the world’s musical heritage, was recorded with the Lviv National Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra (conducted by Serhiy Khorovets). The album’s compositions are available on all streaming platforms, including Apple Music, Spotify, iTunes and YouTube.
The violinist’s next concert is scheduled for May 2025 at the Lviv National Philharmonic.
The music of Ukrainian Christmas is available on YouTube.
